Panini Toscani

When we talk about the Piazza del Duomo in Florence, we tend to limit it to everything that stands before the facade of Santa Maria del Fiore without considering the side areas and the back of the cathedral, which are also places with fewer tourists and host the Duomo Museum. This area certainly deserves to be admired, but there is also another, almost invisible place that you will be happy to have discovered: Panini Toscani.

Panini Toscani deals with, as its name makes transparent, sandwiches that are 100% Tuscan as well as incredibly good. To prepare them, they rely on a fixed format according to which before composing the sandwich based on pre-established ingredients, a tasting is offered to the customer, with a relative explanation of the origins and particularities of each product.

The owner, who is kindness personified, will then make a tasting of all the products to choose from. You will find typical cheeses such as cacio fiorentino or pecorino di Montalcino, cured meats such as the classic finocchiona, hams or the DOP salami to be combined with different types of bread that include the traditional schiacciata, bread with walnuts or olives and many others. Three vegetable toppings or homemade sauces of your choice are available as well.

If you want to make the experience more complete, while your sandwich is heating up, ask the staff for advice on the best wine to pair with your sandwich. You can see the bottles yourself, all lined up along with the hams hanging along the high walls of this former ‘300s brick-vaulted barn. A true taste of medieval Florence.